Wonder what books celebs are taking to the beach this summer? Influencer picks range from intriguing nonfiction that looks at the way our world works to frothy, light-hearted escape into the fictionalized lives of the adventurous and daring. Don’t settle for just one book when you’re packing for vacation. As Bill Gates says, it’s better to have “too much to read on a trip than too little.” Here’s just a sample of the favorites you’ll find in celebrity carry-ons this summer.
BILL GATES, Microsoft founder
Nine Pints, Rose George, $16.50, Amazon
Gates glowingly recommends this exploration of what makes up our blood and the dialogue surrounding menstruation. The billionaire philanthropist thinks everyone should know more about this lifegiving substance with the power of taboo, the value of diamonds and the promise of breakthrough science. “After all, there is nothing that more people have in common than blood,” he says.
REESE WITHERSPOON, Legally Blonde actress
Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid, $15.99, Amazon
The rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer. This novel unravels the mystery behind their infamous breakup. “I devoured Daisy Jones & The Six in a day, falling head over heels for it. Daisy and the band captured my heart,” said Reese Witherspoon of her Hello Sunshine book club pick. The page-turner has already been picked up by Amazon for a series deal with Witherspoon producing.
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home, Tembi Locke, $16.19, Amazon
Reese also loves this selection from the Hello Sunshine book club. In this book, one woman discovers the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace during this cross-cultural love story in the Sicilian countryside. “This book touched every part of my heart. You just want to wrap your arms around it at the end.”
CARSON KRESSLEY, Queer Eye fashion expert
When Life Hands You Lululemons, Lauren Weisberger, $15.69, Amazon
This New York Times bestseller is the delicious sequel to the iconic novel “The Devil Wears Prada.” Selected as one of the best books in summer 2018, this story follows Emily Charlton after she leaves Miranda Priestly’s office. It’s a laugh-out-loud funny look at rich people behaving badly. Kressley raved about the one in an Apartment Therapy interview.
OPRAH WINFREY, Media executive
Becoming, Michelle Obama, $19.50, Amazon
The original celebrity book club has made the former First Lady’s intimate, powerful and inspiring memoir its latest pick. Michelle Obama proves a mesmerizing storyteller as she reflects on her life with honesty and lively wit.
EMMA WATSON, Harry Potter star
Pachinko, Min Jin Lee, $19.60, Amazon
A New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year and National Book Award finalist, Pachinko is a dramatic saga that echoes down through four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family as they fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan. This is a selection from Watson’s Goodreads feminist book list, Our Shared Shelf.
DREW BARRYMORE, Actress and entrepreneur
No One Tells You This, Glynnis MacNicol, $16.41, Amazon
Drew Barrymore raves about the memoir from Glynnis MacNicol, a 40-year-old woman who has written an anthem to choosing the single, family-free life. Barrymore says MacNicol’s path is very different from her own life decisions, but “if it’s optimistic and personal I want to read the other side, because I’m all for otherhood.”
NATE BERKUS, Interior designer
The Paris Architect: A Novel, Charles Belfoure, $31, Amazon
Interior design guru Nate Berkus read The New York Time’s bestseller about a gifted architect living in Paris who becomes involved with protecting Jews during WWII. Malcolm Gladwell calls this novel, “A beautiful and elegant account of an ordinary man’s unexpected and reluctant descent into heroism during the Second World War.”
BILL GATES, Microsoft founder
Presidents of War, Michael Beschloss, $21, Amazon
This fresh, magisterial, intimate history takes us into the room as a procession of American leaders lead the nation into conflict and mobilize for victory. Here are the most difficult decisions that face any President, at times sending American men and women to their deaths. “It is hard to read about today’s conflicts without thinking about how they might connect to the past and what impact they might have on the future,” Gates says.